Trooper Nicole
Maenza, headquartered at the Indiana State Police’s Lowell Post, has been
awarded the Bronze Star, for exceptional meritorious service and heroism
displayed in a life-threatening situation after risking her own life to save
the life of another.

ISP Superintendent
Douglas Carter and the Indiana State Police Board honored Maenza on Friday
in Indianapolis.

According to the
ISP, at 4:40 a.m. March 7, Maenza was investigating multiple weather-related
crashes on a Cline Ave. on-ramp to I-80/90 when she observed a Ford
Expedition which had crashed into the sound barrier wall. After checking the
two occupants for injuries, Maenza advised them to return to their vehicle
for safety reasons until more assistance could arrive at the scene.

Maenza was speaking
to the vehicle’s occupants when another vehicle, a Hyundai Sonata, out of
control on the snow-covered on-ramp, struck her and the two men, one of whom
later wrote in a note of appreciation that he remembers, just before being
hit, Maenza grabbing him in warning of the impending impact. “In hindsight
he believed (that warning) probably saved him from serious bodily injury,”
police said. Maenza, for her part, was “unaware of the severity of her
injuries and was still expressing concern for the other two occupants
involved in this crash” when assisting troopers arrived at the scene.

Maenza and the two
men were subsequently transported to a local hospital where Maenza was
admitted for non-life threatening injuries.

“Trooper Maenza’s
courage and bravery inspires all of us,” said Lt. Terry Gose, commander of
the Lowell Post. “She upholds and exemplifies everything the Indiana State
Police stands for.”